Lemons in the Chicken Wire: the story of queer Indigenous women

A book of poetry dedicated to the voice of queer Aboriginal women in NSW has just been launched.

ALISON Whittaker hasn’t even finished her writing degree yet, but she has just had her first book published and it has been described as “force to be reckoned with” by Books+Publishing.

Lemons in the Chicken Wireis the Gomeroi woman’s collection of poems which she describes as a “novella in verse” and tells the stories of queer and trans Aboriginal people in rural NSW.

“It’s a collection of poetry that tells a story, a novel that uses poetry as medium. I’ve always been a poet, I’ve always loved it,” Whittaker told Star Observer.

“I think the space that poetry leaves you means you don’t have to say everything and the reader can read into it. It’s not a conversation between the writer and the reader.”

Two years in the making, Lemons in the Chicken Wire is Whittaker’s first outing on a solo publication which gave her more flexibility than contributing to an anthology or journal but was also a daunting task to take on.

“I was doing a writing degree and poetry was my way decompressing. I was writing about the same things and stringing these things together… they came together in a cohesive way which was nice,” the 22-year-old said.

“With that flexibility (of being the lone author) comes creative control and that control comes with creative liability. There’s no one to hide behind, it’s my name on the book.

“It’s a bit scary, but a thrilling challenge. It reflects what I wanted.”

Aside from her writing and her studies, Whittaker is working as a research assistant with both the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Faculty of Law and the Centre for the Advancement of Indigenous Knowledges (CAIK). She is also in her final year of a combined Writing and Cultural Studies/Law degree at UTS.

“I would stay the stories have long been there. In storytelling, in conversation and online spaces, there’s always been those voices there. But now there’s a renewed interest,” she said.

Whittaker explained the title of her book, Lemons in the Chicken Wire, reflected the experience of the Aboriginal queer experience in regional NSW.

“Chicken wire is emblematic of Aboriginal identity and invokes images about what it means to be Aboriginal in this space. The rabbit proof fence was made of chicken wires,” she said.

“This is about pushing boundaries… the idea of getting through a border that imposed on you to get to another part of your identity.”

Below is an extract from O, Eureka! from Lemons in the Chicken Wire by Alison Whittaker:

Nan sliced her finger on a crosswordand wrote with that a dissertation, then shebrowning, spoke to meher contested trinitythe messianic, and the self, and theblades of grass that pierce the pulpof weedy toes, that the world should meet youand wound you as you wound itmade Descartes wrong about that splitO, Eureka!And O,the first time I saida long white theory wordshe yarned stiff to impress melike, with that wordcame authority, and with it, fearthat she had been misunderstoodher praxis clumsy or unheardO, the weaker!

About the AuthorShannon Power

Shannon is Star Observer's senior journalist covering NSW and national news. Originally from Melbourne, she has lived and worked across Cape York and far north Queensland reporting on issues important to remote Australia. In her spare time she's a RuPaul's Drag Race fanatic and a Carlton Blues tragic. She tweets @shannonjpower